Pennsylvania Constitution

The current Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, most recently revised in 1968, forms the law for the United StatesCommonwealth of Pennsylvania. Although considered a new document, it is heavily based on the previous Constitution of 1874, and is often considered a revision of the earlier version.

The state constitution may only be amended after a majority vote of two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly and an affirmative vote by the electorate. Emergency amendments are permitted by a vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly and an affirmative vote by the electorate within one month. In an emergency situation, the election officials are required under the Constitution to publish notice of any such amendment election in a minimum of two newspapers in every county. In an event that more than one emergency amendment is proposed, each additional amendment is to be voted on separately.[1]

Contents

Pennsylvania has had five constitutions during its statehood:[2]1776, 1790, 1838, 1874, and 1968. Prior to that, the province of Pennsylvania was governed for a century by a book titled Frame of Government, written by William Penn, of which there were four versions: 1682, 1683, 1696, and 1701.[3]